THEODORE G. CARTER AND FAMILY:

Theodore George Carter was born on February 28, 1832 in Friendship (Allegany County), New York, the son of Miles and Margaretta Loughborough Carter. Following an education in Yorkshire, where the family settled in 1834, and the Richburg academy (1849-1851), Carter was employed in several small New York communities as a carpenter, paperhanger, and housepainter. In 1854 he settled in Olean, New York, apprenticing as a machinist under his brother Nathan.

In the autumn of 1855 Nathan moved to Minnesota, homesteading on Lake Washington in LeSueur County the following spring. Carter soon followed his brother, obtaining employment as a surveyor and, in 1858, becoming land examiner for the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company. In September 1859 he moved to St. Peter, adding the positions of U.S. Land Office agent (1860) and clerk in the private bank of Edgerton and Donahower (1861) to his other activities. On November 12, 1860 he married Margaret "Maggie" O. Byam (1833-1912). The couple had eight children: Albert Byam (1861- ), Lolette (1863-1863), Willie (1866-1867), Anna Adelle "Dell" (1868- ), Margaret Belle (1870- ), Nona Rosa Blossom (1872- ), Theodore George (1874-1875), and Bessie J. (1877- ).

On August 13, 1862 Carter joined in the formation of the Cleveland Guard, a group of Union recruits from LeSueur County. They were mustered in at Fort Snelling on August 16, 1862 as Company K, Seventh Regiment, Minnesota Infantry, with Carter holding the rank of first lieutenant. The company served in Minnesota, mainly as guard to the Dakota prisoners taken during the U.S.-Dakota War, in the 1863 Sibley Indian expedition into Dakota Territory, and in the southern states. Carter was promoted to captain on March 8, 1863, and held that rank until the company was mustered out on August 16, 1865.

Upon his return to St. Peter he resumed his position with Edgerton and Donahower. In 1867 he left the bank to form Carter and Montgomery, a real estate and fire insurance firm, with Thomas Montgomery. He also continued in the position of Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company land examiner. In 1870 he moved to a farm near St. Peter and added a nursery business to his many activities. Due to the grasshopper plagues of the 1870s, however, he nearly reached bankruptcy and in 1883 moved back into St. Peter.

In 1880 he accepted the position of right-of-way agent with the Chicago and North Western Railroad Company (C&NWRR), successor of the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company, and dissolved his partnership in Carter and Montgomery. Between 1880 and 1890 he traveled throughout Minnesota, the Dakotas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, and Wyoming surveying and purchasing rights-of-way for the railroad.

In April 1891 he moved to Deadwood, South Dakota where he assumed the added position of right-of-way agent for the Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad (FE&MVRR). He also began the private purchase, sale, and leasing of mining claims on a commission basis.

Carter retired from the C&NWRR in 1903, working as a private mining and real estate agent until he returned to St. Peter in 1905. From then until his death in 1914, he divided his time between St. Peter, Deadwood, and the homes of his children in Florida.

Carter was also very active in a number of fraternal organizations during his life, particularly the Sons of the American Revolution, Sons of Temperance, and the Grand Army of the Republic, holding many offices in all three.

All biographical information was taken from the collection.

Return to top

Correspondence, diaries, survey notebooks, legal documents, account books, and other personal and business papers of Carter, a St. Peter (Nicollet County, Minnesota) banker, surveyor, land examiner, and insurance and real estate agent.

There is information on his work as a land examiner for the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Co. (1858-1860s); as clerk in the private bank of Edgerton and Donahower (1861-1867); as partner with Thomas Montgomery in a real estate and fire insurance firm (1867-1880); surveying and purchasing land throughout the upper Midwest as right-of-way agent for the Chicago and North Western Railroad Co. (1880s); and as a mining and real estate agent in Deadwood, South Dakota (1891-1905).

Personal correspondence covers family, friendships, and genealogy; his service with the 7th Minnesota Infantry, Company K, during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and the Civil War; and his membership in several fraternal organizations. Also documented are his nursery business (1870s), and his efforts to collect materials for a history of Company K and to aid its veterans in obtaining bounties and pensions.

There is a carpenter's account book (1834-1841) and justice of the peace dockets (1837-1843) of his father, Miles, in Yorkshire County, N.Y.; and record books of the Sons of Temperance, St. Peter Division (1876-1883) and the South Dakota Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (1899-1906).

NOTE: all materials described in the Detailed Description of the Collection on the following pages refer to Theodore G. Carter unless specifically attributed to another person.

Return to top

The collection documents a wide range of the personal, business, and civic activities of Theodore G. Carter. It consists mainly of correspondence and related papers, legal and financial documents and accounts, business records, diaries, biographical and genealogical materials, historical sketches, and organizational records.

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here].Theodore G. Carter and Family Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 4429; 5906; 11,668

Processing Information:

Processed by: Cheryl Norenberg Thies, July 1983

Catalog ID number: 990017320200104294

Return to top

The bulk of the correspondence covers Carter's business and personal activities during his years in St. Peter and Deadwood. The business correspondence deals mainly with his various duties with Edgerton and Donahower, the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company, Carter and Montgomery, and the Chicago and North Western Railroad Company, and his many private ventures in surveying, real estate, nursery stock, and mining. The personal correspondence, largely between Carter and various family members and close friends, deals mainly with family, friendships, genealogy, Civil War reminiscences, and his numerous organizational memberships. These include a number of Civil War letters from Carter to Maggie (1863-1865), long-running correspondence with his son Albert, daughters Dell and Margaret in Florida and Georgia (1880s-1910s), and daughters Nona and Bessie in South Dakota (1890s-1910s). There is a series of letters with the former chaplain of the 7th Regiment, E. E. Edwards, concerning Company K's history (1890-1913). Also contained in this section are letters of Carter's father Miles, and brother Egbert (1836, 1846-1847), and letters and related papers of his children, particularly Dell and Bessie (1917-1922).

Return to top

These volumes consist mainly of Carter's business records; there are a few personal accounts. Many of the volumes also contain scattered diary entries, the majority written to highlight various business ventures, journeys, and special family events. The volumes fall into three basic groups: those covering Carter's early life and employments in New York (volumes 18-22); those detailing his early St. Peter years, particularly his real estate, fire insurance, and nursery activities (volumes 23-33); and those dealing with his Deadwood and later St. Peter years, especially his railroad and mining ventures (volumes 34-59). The following annotations highlight special events, or subjects, or any additional data found in each volume. (NOTE: Some of volumes 60-92 [Personal Financial Recrods] contain similar expense accounts and financial notations.)

Return to top

Incomplete series of Carter's personal financial records, including daily expenses and income, taxes, banking transactions, and insurance coverage. See also Account Books and Diaries series (volumes 18-59) for related materials.

Return to top

These nonfinancial volumes detail in particular Carter's surveying, real estate, and mining activities. Many concern his positions with Edgerton and Donahower, Carter and Montgomery, and the C&NWRR. The following annotations contain detailed descriptions of each volume's content. Where present, Carter's original volume titles have been placed in quotation marks.

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Banks and banking -- Minnesota.

Carpentry -- Accounting.

Dakota Indians--Execution of, at Mankato, Minn., 1862.

Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865.

Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota.

Frontier and pioneer life -- South Dakota.

Grasshopper plauges, 1873-1877--Minnesota.

Horticulture -- Minnesota.

Justices of the peace -- New York -- Yorkshire.

Land titles -- Registration and transfer.

Mines and mining -- South Dakota.

Military pensions -- United States.

Railroads -- Surveying.

Real estate business -- Minnesota -- Saint Peter.

Real property -- Florida.

Surveying -- Middle West.

Temperance -- Societies, etc.

Persons:

Carter, Charles David, 1868-1929.

Carter, Egbert Pomeroy, 1825-1904.

Carter, Margaret Byam, 1833-1912.

Carter, Miles, 1795-1859.

Carter, Nathan Samuel, 1828-1878.

Carter family.

Culver, Norman K.

Edwards, Elijah Evan, 1831-1915.

Humphrey, John Ames, 1850-.

Loughborough family.

Marsh, John S., 1829-1862.

Marshall, William Rainey, 1825-1896.

McQuaide, John.

Montgomery, Thomas, 1841-1907.

Organizations:

Burke Stone Company (Hot Springs, S.D.).

Carter and Montgomery (Saint Peter, Minn.).

Chicago and North Western Railway Company.

Edgerton and Donahower (Saint Peter, Minn.).

Elkhorn Mining Company (Deadwood, Minn.).

Fremont, Elkhorn, and Missouri Valley Railroad.

Grand Army of the Republic. Post No. 37 (Saint Peter, Minn.).

Oro Hondo Mining Company (S.D.).

Sons of Temperance of North America. Saint Peter Division, No. 2 (Saint Peter, Minn.).

Sons of the American Revolution. South Dakota Society.

United States. Army -- Pay allowances, etc.

United States. Army. Minnesota Infantry Regiment, 7th (1862-1865). Company K.

United States. General Land Office (Saint Peter, Minn.).

Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company.

Places:

Tupelo (Miss.) -- Battle of, 1864.

Deadwood (S.D.) -- Social life and customs.

Florida -- Description and travel.

Fort Ridgely (Minn.).

Saint Peter (Minn.) -- Social life and customs.

South Dakota -- Description and travel.

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Campaigns.

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.

Yorkshire County (N.Y.) -- Statistics, Vital.

Document Types:

Account books, Personal.

Deeds.

Diaries.

Genealogies.

Occupations:

Insurance agents--Minnesota--Saint Paul.

Notaries--Minnesota--Nicollet County.

Surveyors--Minnesota.

Return to top